<h2>Name</h2>
<p>
The Surah takes its name from the word <em>al- muddaththir</em> in the first
verse. This also is only a name, not a title of its subject matter.
</p>
<h2>Period of Revelation</h2>
<p>
The first seven verses of this Surah belong to the earliest period at
Makkah. Even according to some traditions which have been related in
Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Musnad Ahmad, etc., on the authority of
Hadrat Jabir bin Abdullah, these are the very earliest verses of the
Qur'an to be revealed to the Holy Prophet (upon whoa be peace). But
the Muslim <em>Ummah</em> almost unanimously agreed that the earliest Revelation
to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) consisted of the first five
verses of Surah Al-Alaq(XCVI) However, what is established by authentic
traditions is that after this first Revelation, no Revelation came
down to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) for quite some time.
Then, when it was resumed, it started with theme verses of Surah Al-
Muddaththir. Imam Zuhri has given the following details of it:
</p>
<p>
"Revelation to the Holy Prophet remained suspended for quite some time,
and it was such a period of deep grief and distress for him that he
started going early to the tops of the mountains to throw himself down
from them. But whenever he stood on the edge of a peak, the Angel
Gabriel would appear and tell him that he was Allah's Prophet. This
would console him and restore to him full peace of mind." (Ibn Jarir).
</p>
<p>
After this Imam Zuhri relates the following tradition on the authority
of Hadrat Jabir bin Abdullah: 
</p>
<p>
"The Ho]y Messenger of Allah describing
the period of <em>falrat al-wahi</em> (break in revelation) said: One day when
I was passing on the way, I suddenly heard a call from heaven. I
raised my head and saw that the same Angel who had visited me in the
Cave of Hira was sitting on a throne between heaven and earth. This
struck terror in my heart, and reaching home quickly, I said: 'Cover
me up, cover me up'. So the people of the house covered me up with a
quilt (or blanket). At that time Allah sent down the Revelation: <em>Ya
ayyuhal-Muddaththiru..</em>. From then on revelation became intense and
continuous." (Bukhari, Muslim Musnad Ahmad, Ibn Jarir). 
</p>
<p>
The rest of
the Surah (vv. 8-56) was revealed when the first Hajj season came after
public preaching of Islam had begun in Makkah. This has been fully
well described in the <em>Sirah</em> by Ibn Hisham and we shall cite it below.
</p>
<h2>Theme and Subject Matter</h2>
<p>
As has been explained above, the earliest Revelation to the Holy
Prophet (upon whom be peace) consisted of the first five verses of
Surah Al-Alaq, in which it had been Said: "Read (O Prophet), in the
name of your Lord, Who created: created man from a clot of congealed
blood. Read: and your Lord is Most Generous, Who taught knowledge by
the pen, taught man what he did not know." 
</p>
<p>
This was the first
experience of Revelation met with suddenly by the Holy Prophet (upon
whom be peace). in this message it was not told what great mission he
had been entrusted with and what duties he had to perk form in future.
He was only initiated into it and then left alone for a time so that
the great strain this experience had caused should pass away and he
should mentally become prepared to receive the Revelation and perform
the prophetic mission in the future. After this intermission when
Revelation Was resumed, the first seven verses of this Surah Were
revealed:In these he Was for the first time commanded to arise and
warn the people of the consequences of the way of life they were
following and to proclaim the greatness of God in the world where
others were being magnified without any right. Along with that he was
given this instruction: The demand of the Unique mission that you have
to perform, now is that your life should be pure in every respect and
you should carry out the duty of reforming your people sincerely
irrespective of any worldly gain. Then, in the last sentence, he was
exhorted to endure with patience, for the sake of his Lord, all the
hardships and troubles that he might have to face while performing his
mission. 
</p>
<p>
In the implementation of this Divine Command when the Holy
Messenger of Allah began to preach Islam and recite the Qur'anic Surahs
revealed successively, the people of Makkah felt alarmed, and it
provoked a great storm of opposition and hostility. A few months
passed in this state until the Hajj season approached. The people of
Makkah feared that if Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) started
visiting the caravans of the pilgrims coming from all over Arabia at
their halting places and reciting the spell binding and unique
Revelations of the Qur'an in their assemblies on the occasion of Hajj,
his message would reach every part of Arabia and influence countless
people. Therefore, the Quraish chiefs held a conference and settled
that they would start a propaganda campaign against the Holy Prophet
(upon whom be peace) among the pilgrims as soon as they arrived. After
they had agreed on this, Walid bin al-Mughirah said to the assembled
people: "If you said contradictory things about Muhuammad (upon whom
be Allah's peace and blessings), we all would lose our trust among the
people. Therefore, let us agree upon one opinion, which we should all
say without dispute. Some people said that they would call Muhammad
(upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) a soothsayer. Walid said :
No, by God, be is not a soothsayer. We have seen the soothsayers: what
they murmur and what they utter has no remote resemblance with the
Qur'an. Some other people said: Then we say be is possessed. Walid
said: He is not a possessed one: we have seen bad and insane people;
the way one talks disjointedly and behaves foolishly in that state is
known to all: who would believe that what Muhammad (upon whom be
peace) presented was the incoherent speech of a madman? The people
said: Then we say he is a poet. Walid said: No, he is not a poet, for
we know poetry in all its forms, and what he presents conforms to no
form of it. The people said: Then he is a sorcerer. Walid said: He is
no sorcerer either: we have Seen sorcerers and we also know what
methods they adopt for their sorcery. This also does not apply to
Muhammad. Then he said: "Whichever of these things you said about
Muhammad, it would be known to be a false accusation. By God, his
speech is sweet, his root is deep and his branches are fruitful. At
this Abu Jahl urging on Walid said: Your people will never be pleased
with you unless you say something about Muhammad. He said: Let me
think over it awhile. Then, after prolonged thought and consideration,
he said: The nearest thing to the truth is that you tell the Arabs
that he is a sorcerer, who has brought a message by which he separates
a man from his father; and from his brother, and from his wife and
children, and from his family. They all agreed on what Walid had
proposed. Then, according to a scheme the men of Quraish spread among
the pilgrims in the Hajj season and they warned everyone they met of
the sorcery of Muhammad (upon whom be peace) and of his stirring up
divisions in the families by it." But the result was that by their
this plan the Quraish chiefs themselves made the name of the Holy
Messenger known throughout Arabia. (Ibn Hisham, pp. 288-289. That
Walid had made this proposal on the insistence of Abu Jahl has been
related by Ibn Jarir in his <em>Tafsir</em> on the authority of Ikrimah). 
</p>
<p>
This same event has been reviewed and commented upon in the second section of this Surah. The sequence of its contents is as follows:
</p>
<p>
In vv. 8-10 the deniers of Truth have been warned, saying: "You will see the evil result of what you are doing today on the Resurrection Day."
</p>
<p>
In vv. 11-26, without naming Walid bin al-Mughirah, it has been told how Allah had blessed him and how inimical he proved to be to true Faith. In this connection, his mental conflict has been portrayed, telling that, on the one hand, he was fully convinced of the truth of Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) and the Qur'an, but, on the other, he did not want to risk his leadership and position among his people. Therefore, not only he did not believe himself but after a long-drawn-out conflict with his conscience he also came out with the proposal that in order to restrain the people from believing the Qur'an should be branded as magic. After exposing his evil nature, it has been said: "Notwithstanding such evil inclinations and misdeeds, this person desires that he should be further blessed, whereas he has now become worthy of Hell, and never of further blessings."
</p>
<p>
In vv. 27-48, the dreadfulness of Hell has been depicted and it has been explained as to people of what character and morals really deserve it.
</p>
<p>
In vv. 49-53, the root cause of the disbelievers' aversion has been pointed out, saying: "Since they are fearless of the Hereafter, and look upon this worldly life as an end in itself, they flee from the Qur'an as though they were wild asses fleeing away from the lion: therefore, they propose unreasonable conditions for believing, whereas even if each and every condition of theirs was fulfilled, they could not advance even an inch on the way of Faith with their denial of the Hereafter."
</p>
<p>
In
conclusion, it has been explicitly stated: Allah does not stand in
need of anybody's faith that He may fulfill his conditions. The Qur'an
is an admonition that has been presented before the people openly; now
whoever wills may accept it. Allah has a right that the people should
fear His disobedience and He alone has the power to forgive the one
who adopts piety and an attitude of God consciousness even though one
may have committed many acts of disobedience in the past.
</p>

